Bike rack

Have you considered a tray-style, receiver-hitch mount rack?
It's ridiculously easy to load and un-load the bikes and simple to remove the rack from your rig. Sell your new rack and put that with the dough you'd spend on a make-shift top bar and get a tray-style. Prices and quality range from cheap stamped steel to units that are made of Unobtainium and put themselves in the garage.
Just a thought. I know those tray-style racks don't work for every application, but they're super convenient.
A random example:

I've seen a couple of racks dump bikes on the Interstate.
The back bumper needs additional metal support welded on to use the cheaper bumpers for a rack.
I've carried two bikes in our trailer, and I've hauled them in the bed of the truck also.

New trailers are coming with a folding rack on the back bumper; these are strong enough. A couple of mods and they will do.

crosscheck wrote:
As has been suggested, buy the top tube adapter for your wife's bike.

Just a side note, modern men's and women's higher end mountain bikes have similar frame geometry as demonstrated by the photo of my mountain bike with the top tube adapter and both of our touring bikes have sloping top tubes.




Gooseberry Mesa, Hurricane, Ut.

Dave

yep, i have two full suspension mtn. bikes that don't have the traditional top tube and i use a similar adapter for both.
lots of bikes anymore, don't have the traditional top tube.

As has been suggested, buy the top tube adapter for your wife's bike.

Just a side note, modern men's and women's higher end mountain bikes have similar frame geometry as demonstrated by the photo of my mountain bike with the top tube adapter and both of our touring bikes have sloping top tubes.




Gooseberry Mesa, Hurricane, Ut.

Dave

Trackrig wrote:
You need one of these that puts a bar on a woman's bike so it mounts on the rack correctly.

Adapter Clicky

Amazon has several types and REI has them as will most bike shops.

Bill

I have the adapter bars not only for a girls bikes but also some boys bikes that have unusually shaped top bars. I almost lost the seat and the bike because the seat came off the post because of the adapter bar. I now connect the adapter bar to the vertical post of the frame instead of the seat post.

I use a couple of short bungee cords around the fenders and handlebars on her bike to help hold it on the rack.

I carry 4 bikes on a receiver-mounted bike rack, an 'L' shaped one as well. Two are children's bikes, and 1 is a woman's bike (DWs bike).

Before I got the bike rack, I read all kinds of horror stories about all the trouble I would have fitting these bikes on the rack. It was a challenge until I got the right rack and figured out how to do it, but they all fit on the rack fine. You just have to get a little 'creative' sometimes in where, how you strap them on. :)

For DW's bike, and both of the kid's bikes: Kinda hard to explain, but what I did was, in the front of the bike, the very bottom bar of the frame sits on top of the rack/saddle, and strap goes around it. For the back, the saddle, bar goes in the opening between the vertical bar going down from the seat, and the bar going back to the back wheel. I turn the saddle sidways, and strap to the vertical bar. Works great, although I will confess I bought and returned 2 different bike racks that wouldn't work, before I got the one I have now that works fine with this, a Thule Trailway 4 bike model.

Anyway, not sure if you might be able to mount them like I did, but just thought I'd throw that out. I definitely understand your frustration, I just went through it. It can be a pain finding a way to mount and carry multiple bikes with different frame types. Good luck with it. :)

Yep, I have to use one of those adapters with one of my bikes too.

Trackrig wrote:
You need one of these that puts a bar on a woman's bike so it mounts on the rack correctly.

Adapter Clicky

Amazon has several types and REI has them as will most bike shops.

Bill

Awww crap!
LOL

The wife just bought a 200 dollar receiver bike rack so we can carry her POS girls bike with us.

It was difficult to set her bike on the ladder rack bike hanger so we usually put it inside the fiver...

Should have known there was cheapster way to go...
Damn me again!!!
:S

Thanx Bill :C

You need one of these that puts a bar on a woman's bike so it mounts on the rack correctly.

Adapter Clicky

Amazon has several types and REI has them as will most bike shops.

Bill